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Lesson 1
The Country’s First Governments
VIDEO
ESSENTIAL QUESTION Why do people create, structure, and change governments?
It Matters Because
The weaknesses of the first U.S. government shaped the way our
government works today.
SS.7.C.1.2 Trace the impact that the Magna
Carta, English Bill of Rights, Mayflower
Compact, and Thomas Paine’s “Common
Sense” had on colonists’ views of
government.
LA.7.1.6.1 The student will use new
vocabulary that is introduced and taught
directly.
LA.7.1.7.3 The student will determine the
main idea or essential message in
grade-level or higher texts through
inferring, paraphrasing, summarizing, and
identifying relevant details.
State Constitutions
GUIDING QUESTION How did citizens set up governments as they transitioned from
colonies to states?
Even before the Declaration of Independence was signed,
American colonists thought about independence. Independence
would mean an end to colonial charters. New plans of
government would have to replace them. The Second
Continental Congress urged colonists to form governments,
“as shall . . . best conduce [contribute] to the happiness and
safety of their constituents [voters].”
In January 1776, New Hampshire became the first
colony to organize as a state. Leaders wrote a constitution:
a detailed, written plan for government. Within a few
years, all the other former colonies had their own state
constitutions.
State Governments
Reading HELP DESK
Taking Notes: Asking Questions
As you read, fill in a table about Shays’s
Rebellion. LA.7.1.7.3
116 The Constitution
All of the state constitutions set up a similar form of government.
Each state had a legislature to make laws. Most of these legislatures
Shays’s Rebellion
Question Word
Question
Who?
What?
When?
Why?
How?
Answer
Content Vocabulary
• constitution
• bicameral
• confederation
• Articles of
Confederation
• ratify
PHOTO: (tl) David R. Frazier Photolibrary, Inc./Alamy; (tcl) National Archives and Records Administration (Public); (tr) Bettmann/Corbis
NGSSS covered in
“State Constitutions”
were bicameral. This means they were divided into two parts,
or houses. The members of each house or state legislature were
chosen by different methods.
Each state also had a governor. This official was elected
either by the legislature or by the citizens. The governor’s job
was to carry out the laws. Finally, each state had courts. Judges
in the courts decided what the laws meant and how to apply
them to each new situation.
Bills of Rights
The new state governments were based upon ideals stated in
the Declaration of Independence. These included the American
ideals of individual rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.” Most state constitutions contained a bill, or list,
of rights. This list guaranteed the basic freedoms and legal
protections that the state’s citizens would enjoy. Among these
rights were trial by jury and protection of personal property.
They can be traced all the way back to the Magna Carta and the
English Bill of Rights.
In 1781 the Articles of Confederation,
shown here, established a weak central
authority.
▲
PROGRESS CHECK
New Hampshire was the first of the
13 colonies to declare independence
and adopt a state constitution.
CRITICAL THINKING
Analyzing Why were the Articles
of Confederation necessary for the new
nation?
Identifying What is a constitution?
The Articles of Confederation
GUIDING QUESTION How did the Articles of Confederation create problems for the
PHOTO: (tr) David R. Frazier Photolibrary, Inc./Alamy; (br) National Archives and Records Administration (Public)
United States?
Each state was ready to govern itself when independence was
declared. However, some tasks were too big for individual
states to handle on their own. A state could not raise and
support a large army, for example. Americans realized that 13
small, separate forces could not fight the mighty British army.
To win the war, American leaders knew they needed a single,
strong army under central control.
For this and other reasons, the Second Continental
Congress planned for a confederation of states. A
confederation is a group of individual state governments
that unite for a common purpose. In 1777 the Congress
wrote out these plans in the Articles of Confederation. This
document became the first constitution of the United States
of America.
•
•
•
•
ordinance
Ordinance of 1785
Northwest Ordinance
Shays’s Rebellion
constitution a detailed,
written plan for government
bicameral a legislature
consisting of two parts, or houses
confederation a
group of individuals or state
governments
Articles of Confederation
the first constitution of the United
States
Lesson 1 117
GEOGRAPHY CONNECTION
Northwest90°W
Territory, 1785
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PLACE What present-day states were created out of
the Northwest Territory? SS.7.G.1.3
2
CRITICAL THINKING Inferring What do you
think was the benefit of establishing a system for
surveying land for sale?
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Northwest Territory
Present-day state
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The Ordinance of 1785 established a system for measuring
70°W
and dividing up land for sale. It reserved every 16th
section for public schools.
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Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area
projection
NGSSS covered in
“The Articles of Confederation”
SS.7.C.1.5 Identify how the weaknesses of
the Articles of Confederation led to the
writing of the Constitution.
SS.7.G.1.3 Interpret maps to identify
geopolitical divisions and boundaries of
places in North America.
The Articles of Confederation set up a “league of friendship”
among independent states. By 1781 all 13 states had ratified, or
approved, the Articles.
The Articles of Confederation created a one-house legislature
in which each state had one vote. The legislature was known as
the Confederation Congress. It controlled the army and had the
power to deal with foreign countries on behalf of the states.
The Northwest Ordinances
Reading HELP DESK
ratify to vote approval of
118 The Constitution
The Confederation Congress passed two laws, or ordinances,
that would have a major effect on the history of the United
States. Both of these ordinances were about the Old Northwest.
This area included present-day Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota.
The first ordinance, the Ordinance of 1785, set up a plan for
surveying western lands. Surveying means measuring a piece
of land. The ordinance also described how western lands were
to be sold. It divided the land into townships six miles square.
Each township was further divided into 36 sections, each one
mile square. This way of surveying is still used today.
ordinance a law, usually
of a city or county
Academic Vocabulary
area a region
Ordinance of 1785 a law that set up
a plan for surveying western lands
The second ordinance was passed in 1787. It was known as
the Northwest Ordinance. This law set up a government for
this area, which was called the Northwest Territory. Officials
later used the ordinance as a model to organize governments
for other new territories. The ordinance also provided a plan for
admitting new states to the Union. Because of these plans, the
Northwest Ordinance was perhaps the most important action of
Congress under the Articles.
Another clause in the ordinance that would have a
significant impact on U.S. history in the 1800s said:
PRIMARY SOURCE
Florida
CONNECTION
From Territory to State
Like the lands in the Old
Northwest, Florida became a U.S.
territory before it became a state.
Spain transferred the land to the
U.S. in a treaty that went into
effect in 1821. The Territory of
Florida was organized the next
year. It became the 27th state in
1845.
“ There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in said territory. ”
—the Northwest Ordinance
The Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance helped
people settle the Northwest Territory in an orderly way. During
the American Revolution, only a few thousand settlers lived
there. By the 1790s, their numbers had grown to about 120,000.
Weaknesses of the Articles
These two Northwest Territory ordinances were important laws.
The Confederation Congress, however, had few other successes.
Why was this so? First, the Congress could not pass a law unless
nine states voted for it. Also, any attempt to amend, or change,
the Articles required all 13 states to agree. Such strict voting
rules made it hard for the Congress to do anything.
WEAKNESSES OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION
CHART SKILLS
The Articles of Confederation
were aimed at setting up a new
government but had some
serious weaknesses.
LACK OF POWER AND MONEY
t Congress had no power to collect taxes.
t Congress had no power to regulate trade.
t Congress had no power to enforce its laws.
LACK OF CENTRAL POWER
t No single leader or group directed government policy.
t No national court system existed.
Articles of Confederation, on
whom did the Confederation
Congress have to depend to
enforce its laws?
2 CRITICAL THINKING
RULES TOO RIGID
t Congress could not pass laws without the approval of 9 states.
t The Articles could not be changed without the agreement of all 13 states.
Northwest Ordinance 1787 law that set
up a government for the Northwest Territory and a
plan for admitting new states to the Union
1 Explaining Under the
Analyzing Why was it a
serious problem that the
Articles were almost
impossible to change?
SS.7.C.1.5
Academic Vocabulary
impact an effect
Lesson 1 119
The power of the Confederation Congress was strictly
limited. The colonists had disliked strong British rule. As a
result, the 13 states gave the Confederation Congress little
power. Even when the Congress passed laws, it could not
enforce them. Unlike state constitutions, the Articles did not
allow for a governor. If a state ignored a law, Congress could
do nothing. There was no one to ensure the law was obeyed.
The Confederation Congress also did not have the power
to tax. The Articles allowed the Congress to ask the states for
money but not to demand it. The Congress could not, in fact,
require the states to do anything.
Shays’s Rebellion
The Articles were too weak to deal with many of the problems
facing the new country. However, the United States was able
to achieve some success. The states forced the British to accept
their independence. The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. It
ended the fighting between Great Britain and the new nation.
Independence, however, did not put an end to the country’s
struggles. For one thing, the United States faced serious
financial troubles. It was unable to collect taxes. Yet, the
Confederation Congress had borrowed money to pay for the
American Revolution. It had
run up a large debt.
Because they could not pay high state
taxes after the war, some farmers
risked losing their land. In Shays’s
Rebellion, Massachusetts farmers
revolted.
▲
PHOTO: Bettmann/Corbis
CRITICAL THINKING
Determining Cause and Effect How
did uprisings like Shays’s Rebellion help
lead to a change in the nation’s
government? SS.7.C.1.5
Reading HELP DESK
Shays’s Rebellion an uprising of
Massachusetts farmers who did not want to lose
their farms because of debt caused by heavy state
taxes after the American Revolution
120 The Constitution
The state governments had also fallen into deep debt.
They taxed their citizens heavily. Meanwhile, trade slowed
and people lost jobs. Farmers could not sell their crops and
went into debt. Some even lost their lands. The states also
taxed goods imported from other states and countries. These
taxes hurt trade. Merchants and businesspeople suffered. The
Confederation Congress had no power to fix these problems.
Even worse, the Congress could do nothing to calm
the public’s worries. Above all, Americans feared that the
government could not protect them. During 1786 and 1787,
riots broke out in several states.
One alarming uprising took place in Massachusetts. There, a
farmer named Daniel Shays owed money because of heavy state
taxes. Massachusetts courts threatened to take his farm to pay
for his debts. Shays felt the state had no right to punish him for
a problem it had created. Many others agreed. Shays led about
1,200 protestors, including a number of free African Americans,
in an attack on a federal arsenal. The uprising, known as Shays’s
Rebellion, was quickly stopped. But it was a warning to the
country. Could the government maintain law and order?
Many political leaders, merchants, and writers began calling
for a stronger national government.
21st Century
SKILLS
Articulate Thoughts and Ideas
Daniel Shays took arms against
the government. However,
people have many peaceful ways
to make themselves heard. A
petition, for example, is a formal
written request made to an
official or organization. Suppose
you are Daniel Shays. Draft a
petition to present to the
governor of Massachusetts.
PRIMARY SOURCE
not conceive we can exist long as a nation, without having lodged somewhere a
“powerI dowhich
will pervade the whole Union.
”
—George Washington’s papers
In 1787 representatives, called delegates, from 12 of the states
attended a meeting in Philadelphia. Their plan was to revise, or
change, the Articles of Confederation.
PROGRESS CHECK
Explaining Why was it difficult to pass laws under the Articles of
Confederation?
LESSON 1 REVIEW
Review Vocabulary
1. What is a confederation? LA.7.1.6.1
2. What were two successful ordinances created under
the Articles of Confederation? What did they
achieve? LA.7.1.6.1
Answer the Guiding Questions
4. Determining Cause and Effect What problems
after the war caused Shays’s Rebellion? SS.7.C.1.5
5. EXPOSITORY WRITING Suppose that you are on
a committee to write a new state constitution.
Identify three freedoms you want the constitution
to guarantee. Explain why it is important to
guarantee these rights. SS.7.C.1.2
3. Identifying State constitutions based their bills of
rights on what English document? SS.7.C.1.2
Lesson 1 121